I'm about as big of a Linux fanboy as one can be, but I don't think it's ever going to be the year of the Linux desktop. It's great for embedded systems and servers; but the lack of uniformity amongst distributions, desktop environments, window managers, X servers, and every other component of the OS means desktop Linux will always be a pain in the ass compared to something like OSX or NT.

"You can argue that a shell shot by the drone is like a linked library to the drone. Therefore the victim has to see the GPL before being killed."

"People so frequently misunderstand the GPL. There is no obligation to provide source unless someone has the binary, and the publisher can wait until they ask. So to be GPL compliant the publisher only has to provide source to strike survivors if and when they ask. The publisher is also free to choose their own delivery mechanism so long as it is something commonly used, given the precedent of the first shell a second shell containing source would be compliant."

//"we see you're about to bomb kazakhstan - would you like to see more airfare options?"

Solaris.

Plus, why use a propriety OS like Solaris when you can use free software like Linux that operates very similarly but has a much larger pool of developers, system administrators and support resources?

sendtodave: Does this herald the year of the linux desktop?

I'm about as big of a Linux fanboy as one can be, but I don't think it's ever going to be the year of the Linux desktop. It's great for embedded systems and servers; but the lack of uniformity amongst distributions, desktop environments, window managers, X servers, and every other component of the OS means desktop Linux will always be a pain in the ass compared to something like OSX or NT.

Pretty much nailed it. And for the average casual user who has a question on the internet the answer usually starts with "Open terminal" or "Wrong forum" or "Did you search first?"

manbart:Plus, why use a propriety OS like Solaris when you can use free software like Linux that operates very similarly but has a much larger pool of developers, system administrators and support resources?

because you don't want a large pool of developers, sys admins and support people with ability to see the source code of the OS you're using to control your remote missle armed death machines from?

tlchwi02:manbart: Plus, why use a propriety OS like Solaris when you can use free software like Linux that operates very similarly but has a much larger pool of developers, system administrators and support resources?

because you don't want a large pool of developers, sys admins and support people with ability to see the source code of the OS you're using to control your remote missle armed death machines from?

yes because proprietary operating systems have apperently never suffered remote exploits before. not to mention that most of the user land and applications on Solaris are the same open source projects found on Linux... and that portions of the kernel were taken from the open source BSD kernel... and that the SunOS kernel source code was released as open source by Sun Microsystems before it was closed off again when it was acquired by Oracle.

tlchwi02:manbart: Plus, why use a propriety OS like Solaris when you can use free software like Linux that operates very similarly but has a much larger pool of developers, system administrators and support resources?

because you don't want a large pool of developers, sys admins and support people with ability to see the source code of the OS you're using to control your remote missle armed death machines from?

They can look at the source code all they want. They can't change the code, though, and I'm sure that some of the code won't be available.

//"we see you're about to bomb kazakhstan - would you like to see more airfare options?"

Solaris.

Plus, why use a propriety OS like Solaris when you can use free software like Linux that operates very similarly but has a much larger pool of developers, system administrators and support resources?

Just as an aside, but did the USN ever successfully get anywhere regarding migrating away from Solaris to NT4? I imagine having to reboot the ship every ~30 days until service pack 6a came out was a giant pain...

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

/except potentially a trivial OS with an incredibly small feature set where all combinations of possible commands in all situations could be tested and proved safe, but even most of those will in practice be insecure because the time to test and deal with all such possibilities wouldn't be taken anyway//some OSes are more insecure than others of course

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

Without trying to start a holy war I can suggest visit centos's and ubuntu's websites and grabbing their live ISOs (burnable bootable live DVDs that let you try it out without installing it), see which flavour works and if you really like it there's a guided install method right there. That covers two of the biggest ones.

/personal opinion: Ubuntu has made some bad decisions with the interface, its very metro as of late.

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

Download SUSE. Burn ISO to DVD. Reboot and it will all be installed and set up for you.

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

Without trying to start a holy war I can suggest visit centos's and ubuntu's websites and grabbing their live ISOs (burnable bootable live DVDs that let you try it out without installing it), see which flavour works and if you really like it there's a guided install method right there. That covers two of the biggest ones.

/personal opinion: Ubuntu has made some bad decisions with the interface, its very metro as of late.

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

4) run the universal USB installer utility. 4a) Select "Linux Mint" from the drop down in the "select distribution..." menu 4b) navigate to the ISO you downloaded with the "browse" button 4c) slelect the USB stick from the "select drive..." drop down, check "format drive"

\it should all look like this.

5) hit create.

6) when the utility is complete, restart your computer with the usb stick inserted, open to boot menu during BIOS, and boot form the usb.

7) just follow the prompts during install, it is intuitive and no harder to install that windows. Defualt options will work for the most part

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

I'm on an old XP machine, and instead of Ubuntu I went with Xubuntu. It's a lighter weight interface.

/except potentially a trivial OS with an incredibly small feature set where all combinations of possible commands in all situations could be tested and proved safe, but even most of those will in practice be insecure because the time to test and deal with all such possibilities wouldn't be taken anyway//some OSes are more insecure than others of course

I didn't mean to imply that Linux is immune to security issues; it is not. However, I was just refuted the point that somehow Solaris is more secure because it's proprietary and Linux is open source.

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

I'm on an old XP machine, and instead of Ubuntu I went with Xubuntu. It's a lighter weight interface.

styckx:manbart: Somaticasual: What were they using before, windows mobile?

//"we see you're about to bomb kazakhstan - would you like to see more airfare options?"

Solaris.

Plus, why use a propriety OS like Solaris when you can use free software like Linux that operates very similarly but has a much larger pool of developers, system administrators and support resources?

sendtodave: Does this herald the year of the linux desktop?

I'm about as big of a Linux fanboy as one can be, but I don't think it's ever going to be the year of the Linux desktop. It's great for embedded systems and servers; but the lack of uniformity amongst distributions, desktop environments, window managers, X servers, and every other component of the OS means desktop Linux will always be a pain in the ass compared to something like OSX or NT.

Pretty much nailed it. And for the average casual user who has a question on the internet the answer usually starts with "Open terminal" or "Wrong forum" or "Did you search first?"

Your forums are a lot nicer than the ones I go to.

/"RTFM!"//"Here, let me Google that for you."///and other classics that would get a Microsoft service hotline employee fired on the spot.

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

Without trying to start a holy war I can suggest visit centos's and ubuntu's websites and grabbing their live ISOs (burnable bootable live DVDs that let you try it out without installing it), see which flavour works and if you really like it there's a guided install method right there. That covers two of the biggest ones.

/personal opinion: Ubuntu has made some bad decisions with the interface, its very metro as of late.

All the awesome of Ubuntu, none of the bloat. Best thing ever: it's the only "distro" I've come across that plays Netflix by just installing pipelight and a user agent add-on for Firefox (no, not even Linux Mint let me)

If you need something even MORE barebones, I suggest Crunchbang. It runs on my T1000

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

Without trying to start a holy war I can suggest visit centos's and ubuntu's websites and grabbing their live ISOs (burnable bootable live DVDs that let you try it out without installing it), see which flavour works and if you really like it there's a guided install method right there. That covers two of the biggest ones.

/personal opinion: Ubuntu has made some bad decisions with the interface, its very metro as of late.

I'd grab a copy of Linux Mint http://www.linuxmint.com/. It's Ubuntu without a lot of the Unity (new desktop that tries to make it more Mac like) krrap. There are several varieties with different user interfaces.

Personally I'm a Gnome user. You might like KDE if you are coming from a Windows machine (similiar).

Download the ISO to a DVD. Boot on the DVD (warning very slow). Give it a test run (again will be sluggish).

If you like just hit the icon on the desktop that says install and follow the prompts (only about half a dozen simple ones like timezone , username , password ...)

Go away and come back to a new shiny machine. It will have pretty much everything you need for day to day use like office suites, browsers etc. If you need other software it's pretty much all free and can easily be loaded from the software center or you can find out the name of the 'package' and use the apt-get command (example typing sudo apt-get install eclipse eclipse-jdt eclipse-cdt in a terminal gets you a very nice code development environment)

If you are putting it on an old less power full machine there are several other distributions that require less horse power.

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

I'm on an old XP machine, and instead of Ubuntu I went with Xubuntu. It's a lighter weight interface.

Hey, dentalhilljack:

Do you think Xubuntu would run OK on this old thingy: http://www.amazon.com/900HA-8-9-Inch-Netbook-Processor-Storage/dp/B00 1 GIPSAM/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Please don't ask me why I bought it. I'd just hate to throw it away if it's still useable.

I checked out the Xubuntu specs and it looks like it will - I have Ubuntu on it now but if Xubuntu has a lighter interface so much the better, and I'd like the advice of someone who is using it.

Thanks in advance.

That should run Xubuntu/Kubuntu just fine. I like Kubuntu since the UI is more similar to Linux Mint, but they are both lightweight. Crunchbang Linux might not be a bad option, but it's definitely a far different user experience (primary menu navigation is from right click). I use it when I need to test something on a Debian based distro that's not dependent on the GUI.

manbart:I didn't mean to imply that Linux is immune to security issues; it is not. However, I was just refuted the point that somehow Solaris is more secure because it's proprietary and Linux is open source.

Neither development methodology are more or less secure than the other. In the end all that matters is how the system is managed.

gingerjet:OnlyM3: Download SUSE. Burn ISO to DVD. Reboot and it will all be installed and set up for you.

SUSE still exists?

Unfortunately, yes. I have to deal with it every day at work, thinking obsenities about my boss for chosing it over Debian or an Ubuntu flavor.

WTF DO YOU MEAN TRAYER CAN'T BE INSTALLED!? FFS I HATE SUSE. I'm glad I left it TEN YEARS AGO.

/I gave up after 20 minutes of wrestling with the damn outdated repos they put out on their site.//you'd think the development team consists of a bunch of high school kids being bribed with beer to work during Octoberfest... hence the slow release cycle and shiat integration.

gingerjet:manbart: I didn't mean to imply that Linux is immune to security issues; it is not. However, I was just refuted the point that somehow Solaris is more secure because it's proprietary and Linux is open source.

Neither development methodology are more or less secure than the other. In the end all that matters is how the system is managed.

Can anybody suggest a website that would lead me through the steps of wiping an old Windows XP machine and loading up Linux, configuring it and loading up a web browser/office software package? I'd really like to play with Linux, get the fark away from all the MSBS...

I'm on an old XP machine, and instead of Ubuntu I went with Xubuntu. It's a lighter weight interface.

Hey, dentalhilljack:

Do you think Xubuntu would run OK on this old thingy: http://www.amazon.com/900HA-8-9-Inch-Netbook-Processor-Storage/dp/B00 1 GIPSAM/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Please don't ask me why I bought it. I'd just hate to throw it away if it's still useable.

I checked out the Xubuntu specs and it looks like it will - I have Ubuntu on it now but if Xubuntu has a lighter interface so much the better, and I'd like the advice of someone who is using it.

Thanks in advance.

It will work just fine. I've had so many Linux distros installed on it that the drive probably looks live the thumb of a worn out glove...or maybe a busted condom with syph and Tobasco.

Marine1:styckx: manbart: Somaticasual: What were they using before, windows mobile?

//"we see you're about to bomb kazakhstan - would you like to see more airfare options?"

Solaris.

Plus, why use a propriety OS like Solaris when you can use free software like Linux that operates very similarly but has a much larger pool of developers, system administrators and support resources?

sendtodave: Does this herald the year of the linux desktop?

I'm about as big of a Linux fanboy as one can be, but I don't think it's ever going to be the year of the Linux desktop. It's great for embedded systems and servers; but the lack of uniformity amongst distributions, desktop environments, window managers, X servers, and every other component of the OS means desktop Linux will always be a pain in the ass compared to something like OSX or NT.

Pretty much nailed it. And for the average casual user who has a question on the internet the answer usually starts with "Open terminal" or "Wrong forum" or "Did you search first?"

Your forums are a lot nicer than the ones I go to.

/"RTFM!"//"Here, let me Google that for you."///and other classics that would get a Microsoft service hotline employee fired on the spot.

I was being overly nice.. Most Linux forums are full of alpha male nerd dickheads..

manbart:I'm about as big of a Linux fanboy as one can be, but I don't think it's ever going to be the year of the Linux desktop. It's great for embedded systems and servers; but the lack of uniformity amongst distributions, desktop environments, window managers, X servers, and every other component of the OS means desktop Linux will always be a pain in the ass compared to something like OSX or NT.